Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Scientists: brain games have no beneficial effect for memory and cognitive function!


Tue 31 Jul 2018 | 09:23 PM
Yassmine Elsayed

SEE- July31st: Brain games and applications, commonly promoted as ideal methods to boost your memory and cognitive functions, are not at all as good as their manufacturers say they are. Indeed, they stimulate the brain but only in the short-term, with no results in the long-run.

A team of neuroscientists from the Western University came up with a new study that shows that the so-called brain games, promoted to help people enhance memory and cognitive function, have no beneficial effects in their purposes.

“There’s no evidence that there is any cognitive benefit. Despite all of our efforts to find some evidence that brain training could make you smarter, we couldn’t find any,” pointed out Bobby Stojanoski, a neuroscientist in the Owen Lab at the Western University’s Brain and Mind Institute and the recent study’s leading author.

According to Stojanoski, there’s nothing wrong with playing brain games or anything similar, but those who play shouldn’t expect to get smarter or boost memory or cognitive functions.

Surprisingly, a lot of new research shows things like exercise, a healthy diet and socializing with friends all help improve and maintain your cognitive health.

Having a diet rich in healthy fats might be useful, as well as doing physical activity regularly, the scientists found. Both are helpful in stimulating the brain, boosting memory and cognitive functions, and even in preventing or delaying cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Besides all these, having enough sleep is also beneficial for the brain, said Bobby Stojanoski from the Owen lab at the Western University’s Brain and Mind Institute.